The Tissint Meteorite: Soil Science – Martian Style
Posted: Sun Oct 14, 2012 9:33 amDr Richard Greenwood's latest post to Meteorites: The Final Frontier concerns the analysis of both the Martian atmosphere and Martian surface materials found in the Tissint meteorite.
The press release form the open university is here. The paper, published in Science, is Tissint Martian Meteorite: A Fresh Look at the Interior, Surface, and Atmosphere of Mars. The work is an international collaboration and includes contribution from authors affiliated with the following British institutions: Planetary and Space Sciences, The Open University; Department of Mineralogy, Natural History Museum and the UK Space Agency.
Dr Sasha Verchovsky and “Finesse”. Dr Verchovsky works in the Open University’s Department of Physical Sciences and made extensive measurements of carbon and nitrogen isotopes in Tissint using a high-sensitivity and high-precision mass spectrometer called “Finesse”. Dr Verchovsky’s analyses were able to show that Tissint contains traces of Martian atmosphere, as well as soil-like material from the surface of the red planet.
The results of an international study, published today in Science, has found traces of material from both the surface and atmosphere of Mars in the Tissint Martian meteorite. The research team, which was led by Professor Hasnaa Chennaoui Aoudjehane from the Hassan II University, Morocco, included four members of the Open University’s Physical Science Department....
The press release form the open university is here. The paper, published in Science, is Tissint Martian Meteorite: A Fresh Look at the Interior, Surface, and Atmosphere of Mars. The work is an international collaboration and includes contribution from authors affiliated with the following British institutions: Planetary and Space Sciences, The Open University; Department of Mineralogy, Natural History Museum and the UK Space Agency.